He follows up great show at Paris-Nice with Stage 3 win in Catalunya today

Roses are blooming anew for our man Óscar Pereiro, and he showed that vitality today by launching an attack at 141 km with Xavier Tondo (Cervelo) and Joachim Rodríguez (Katusha). Bad luck that Óscar seized with cramp, but Tondo and Rodríguez made the effort stick—in spite of the encroaching stomp of Luis León Sánchez.
Tondo won the stage by a hair’s breadth over Rodríguez, with Luisle at 48 seconds. Joachim Rodríguez is now the new overall leader of the Volta a Catalunya 2010.
Three hot stars on the rampage, three threats, three troublemakers for Astana at Paris-Nice – what a shame Alberto Contador is not here to gamble with these guys!
The hors categorie Pedraforca and three second-category climbs marked the first day of serious climbing at La Volta 2010. A number of breakaways tried but ultimately failed, including a really nice go by Astana’s Gorazd Stangelj in an escape group of 13 that lasted for more than 60 kilometers.
Aspiring teams in the pack took control at various times: RadioShack drove hard to pull back the Stangelj group which also contained their rider Impey. Katusha, Liquigas and Euskaltel also did their share.
Three Astana riders finished in the top 20 today: Tiralongo, Jufré and Pereiro, and all three remain in competitive positions with margins of 1:44 or less from the leader.

Points of interest:

Biciciclismo considered Stage 3, on paper, a day for escapes that wouldn’t win win the Volta, but might lose it.

Tondo showed ambition early by getting into a 21-man group at 13 kilometers, with a number of strong riders like Garate and Siutsou.

More GC ambitions were revealed by the order of passage over the final climb: 1) Tondo 2) Rodríguez 3) Frank Schleck, 4) Kreuziger